that analyzes facial expressions to determine the subject’s emotional state
7 January 2015 – So the Apple news hit quite appropriately. I was sitting around with my chums today as we plan our participation in Le Forum International de la Cybersécurité (the International Cyber Security Forum, called “FIC 2016”, the largest cybersecurity event in Europe) which is held the last week of January. I am a FIC partner. It is a great international cybersecurity forum with a little bit of everything: (1) a trade show to share knowledge and ideas, recruit new employees and maintain contacts; (2) a forum to discuss a host of issues with experts, gather ideas and share professional lessons; and (3) what they call “The Observatory” which provides an opportunity to continue exchanging views and information, explore topics in greater depth and nurture the network throughout the year.
I have written about Emotient’s technology in previous posts. It is used primarily in the advertising and marketing industry. Emotient’s website touts the technology’s ability to capture direct emotional response from customers:
Uses for emotion recognition and analysis are as varied and expansive as the imagination of our customers. Wherever there are cameras there can be video analysis of expressions, and an opportunity to learn about the customer’s state of mind as they emotionally respond to marketing, product and service experiences.
The acquisition comes just over four months after Apple picked up Faceshift, a Swiss company specializing in image-based three-dimensional motion capture. In 2010, Apple purchased Swedish facial recognition firm Polar Rose. The Apple method: scoop up smaller companies that are under the radar. And it has dramatically increased the rate at which it acquires companies. Whenever the market or the media catches wind of it, it confirms the acquisition and then issues the typical response without providing any additional insight.
These acquisitions are not to improve the simple facial recognition features built into iPhoto. Apple’s intentions are clearly aimed toward the next “new new” thing: the security-related uses for such technology.
As I have noted … and many others have noted … AI is hot hot hot with Google, Facebook, IBM and others starting to show off what they’ve been cooking in their respective AI research labs, much of it in the area of facial recognition software. One of the most popular biometric modalities, facial recognition has a very wide range of applications. Leveraging a smartphone, tablet or computer’s built-in camera facial recognition software can be used to replace the password on a user’s account and it can be used by retailers and marketers to gather crucial demographic data. In law enforcement the technology can aid … and has been used … in the identification of wanted persons and in border control deployments it can streamline security operations. At last years DLD Tel Aviv tech festival I saw how the Israelis use it.
And at next month’s Mobile World Congress there will be string of announcements on new biometric solutions optimized for smartphones, tablets and other platforms with authentication features that will allow face and voice data uses to authenticate a user for access to a devise or system.
Note: the Pentagon and other military and law enforcement installations use a variety of software that, for instance, will put a yellow box over anything that registers as a face. If it recognizes that face, the box turns green and that person is cleared for entry. If not, it turns red, and the access door/system stays locked.
These systems also use additional biometric data like your gait and voice, so that as it learns more about you, it gets faster. For those of you in New York last year for LegalTech, if you stayed around for the cybersecurity conference that followed LegalTech you had a chance to see the FST21 demo. The headshot took approximately three seconds. When I stepped in front of the security camera, it took about two seconds for my yellow box to turn green. Even when I walked around, it still spotted me and recognized me as friendly.
And biometric is not a “next-age” technology. Last month the BBC ran a 3-part series on forensic science that included a segment on “identification technology” and noted that fingerprints as identification started to appear in prehistoric times. Picture writing of a hand with ridge patterns was discovered in Nova Scotia. In ancient Babylon, fingerprints were used on clay tablets for business transactions. In ancient China, thumb prints were found on clay seals. In 14th century Persia, various official government papers had fingerprints (impressions), and one government official, a doctor, observed that no two fingerprints were exactly alike.
How about that, Tim Cook!